Kathmandu, Aug. 7 -- The Supreme Court has reopened the legal dispute over the leadership of the Nepali Congress after deciding to review its earlier ruling that recognised the party's special general convention and the central working committee led by Gagan Thapa.

A three-justice bench comprising Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Sharma and justices Nityananda Pandey and Shreekanta Paudel on Thursday issued the order while responding to separate review petitions filed by former party president Sher Bahadur Deuba and former acting president Purna Bahadur Khadka.

Both argued that the Supreme Court's April verdict, which upheld the Election Commission's recognition of Thapa's leadership, was flawed.

The court's order revives the dispute but does...